Puppy Love
by PeetaTobias
Summary: Katniss gets a bit of relief from all of her stress when the old woman down the street's dog has puppies. Peeta sees a side of Katniss that he almost never gets to see. Happy and all smiles. PeetaxKatniss Peeniss


**Here's a little head cannon I thought up. Because there's nothing cuter then Katniss, Peeta, and a puppy. This takes place after The Hunger Games, and before Catching Fire!**

**Enjoy! :)**

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Peeta Mellark arrives at the house of Katniss for another visit, he knocks on the door waiting for her to answer.

But Prim answers the door. The little girl smiles at Peeta, "Hey Peeta. Are you looking for my sister?" She grins a bit, Prim loved teasing Peeta about how he always wanted to be near Katniss. She leans against the door frame, "She isn't here right now actually."

Peeta frowned, visibly disappointed to hear that news. He had spent the day in the bakery, making cheese buns… And how could he not think of Katniss while baking her favorite. "Oh… I see."

Prim once again grins, "She's down at the old woman's house down the street. Her dog just had some puppies and Katniss is playing with them. She's been there all day."

"Thanks Prim," Peeta smiles at the small blonde. "I'll go check on her then." He waves slightly before starting down the road towards the house. Peeta never thought of Katniss being a puppy lover… Although she did hate that cat. Maybe she was a dog person? He smiles to himself as he arrives at the old woman's house and knocks at the door.

An older woman answers with a smile, "Peeta hello. Are you here to see the puppies as well? "

Peeta nods, "Yes. And I'm looking for Katniss. Is she still here?"

"Oh yes! And it's been so nice having her here! The pups love her!" She smiles and steps to the side, "Please come in. They are in the back room."

Once again, Peeta nods. "Thanks."

Peeta slips his shoes off and then walks into the back room of the small house. And there's Katniss, with her back to the door, her long braid running down her back. She's sitting on the floor with 4 little puppies hopping around her and yipping. The funny this is, she's smiling, almost giggling slightly. Peeta watches Katniss pick one up into her hands, holding the brown and black spotting puppy out in front of her. Katniss smiles, "Hello little boy." She then lets out another giggle and the puppy licks at her nose and face

Peeta leans against the door frame of the room for a moment, watching her. His mouth slightly agape, amazed by the sight in front of him. Katniss was always beautiful… But something about this sight before him… It made him go into a day dream… One he didn't want to wake up from ever…

_Peeta walks through the soft grass, looking forward as he walks up to Katniss. She's giggling with a puppy in hand as she looks up at him, "Ah Peeta!"_

_He smiles some more, sitting down behind her and kissing her temple. "Hello beautiful girl."_

_Katniss smiles again, setting the puppy down and watching him take off into the field in front of them. The puppy makes it to a set of beautiful children, who are giggling and picking dandelions. _

_Peeta smiles again, he just couldn't stop. "Our children are perfect."_

_"Peeta?"_

_"Yes love?"_

_"Peeta?"_

"Peeta!" Katniss says a bit louder, snapping him out of his day dream. "You there?"

"Ah… Sorry. Just thinking." He walks over to her now, sitting down next to her on the ground. The puppies were smelling him within seconds, rolling around by his legs. "You look so cute playing with the puppies" He smile as Katniss turns to him cradling the puppy in her arms, she was still smiling even after his comment. She almost always fought back when he said something like that to her… But not this time. This was a side of Katniss that Peeta had never seen before…

Katniss just keeps smiling, loving the puppies. Especially the one she was holding, he was a total sweet heart. In fact, he kinda reminded her of Peeta in some ways. If he was a dog. "Well have you seen these things? They're adorable!" She looks down at the puppy, glad she enjoyed them. At first, she was afraid of them. All dogs just reminded her of the mutts from the games. But… She loved them. A lot more then that ugly cat of Prim's.

Peeta watched Katniss, he couldn't seem to take his eye off her. "It's good to see you smiling so much Katniss." He looks down at the puppies and one of them leaned on his leg with his front paws. He picked it up and looks into its eyes, "What happened puppy?" He brought the puppy to his ear and acted as if he could spoke to him. "You say that Katniss is th eprettiest girl you've ever seen? I agree with you completely." He says with a smile plastered across his face.

She smiles still, rolling her eyes. "Oh please the puppy can't talk Peeta…" Katniss looks down at the puppy in her arms. He yips at her, his tail wagging like crazy. This makes her smile even more. Suddenly the puppy licks her neck, causing Katniss to almost squeal out since the skin on her neck was a very sensitive area.

Peeta sets down the puppy he was holding, watching the puppy in Katniss's hands. He mades a face, feeling a small pang of jealously in his chest. "Wish I was a dog…" He whispers under his breath.

Katniss turns to him, "Huh? Why would you want to be a dog?"

He freezes, since he hadn't meant to say that out loud. Peeta licks his lips and clears his throat. "Uhh no… I said I wish I had a dog."

She shakes her head, "No… I heard you loud and clear."

Peeta sighs, he never could get anything past Katniss. "If I was a puppy, then I could make you laugh and smile like that…"

She stares at the baker for a moment, not sure of what to say. Katniss takes a breath, petting the puppies fur. "I would prefer you were human."

He looks over at her, eyes a bit wide. "Huh? Why?"

Katniss smiles over at him, "Puppies can't make cheese buns."

Peeta laughs out loud, holding his head a bit. "You and those cheese buns. And here I though you were going to say something profound."

She shakes her head, "Your the one whose good with words Peeta. Not me." He looks over at her, and the room is silent for a moment except for the sound of the puppies. That is until Katniss speaks, "You know. This puppy is a lot like you."

"Huh?" Peeta looks at the puppy. "How so?"

Katniss shrugs a bit, "He's sweet, loving, cute… Just like you."

He stares at her, "Katniss I…"

Suddenly the old woman enters the room, a huge smile on her face. "Seems that young pup has taken a liking to you Katniss."

Peeta curses under his breath, and Katniss smiles. "He's adorable."

The woman walks over, "How about you take him home with you?"

The braided girl's eyes widen, "Really? I could have him?"

She nods, "I can't take care of all these puppies. And he would be happier going home with you."

Both Katniss and Peeta stand up, "Thank you so much!"

The woman nods, her smile a bit sad for some reason. "Now get going you two. Katniss your sister would love to see what you have to bring home."

The teens nods as they walk out of the woman's house. Peeta looks over at the smiling girl, "What will you name him?"

She looks down at the puppy and suddenly freezes, her eyes catching the puppies beautiful brown eyes. Those eyes seemed familiar to the girl… Haunting almost… She suddenly speaks, "Poppy…"

As they walk towards Katniss's home, Peeta raises a brow. "Poppy?"

Katniss nods, "When I was a baby… I had trouble with saying my 'A's' so.. I called my dad Poppy."

Right when she says this, Peeta's eyes soften. They had both lost so much because of the games. There sense of security, there confidence in some ways… But Katniss had lost so much even before the games. She was always working to make life better for her family… Even when she was suffering just as much as them. "He would like that…"

She nods, "He did always say… That he wanted a dog…"

"Katniss… I really need to ask you some-"

"Hey Kat!" A small voice suddenly rang out.

Peeta growled under his breath and looked up, Prim was waving at them from the front porch. She waves back to her, "Hey Prim!"

Katniss's mom comes up behind Prim, her face quite and solum as always. Maybe even more so. Prim walks up to Katniss, "Did you see? Mom got me a new skirt." Her voice wasn't as happy as it should be.

It was then that Katniss remembers what day tomorrow was… What was happening tomorrow… They day everyone else hates. She kneels down, kissing her sister on the forehead and trying to smile. "Remember. Tuck in your tail, little duck."

Peeta's hand is stuffed in his pocket, as he smiles a sad smile. The way she took care of Prim, calling her little duck… He always thought about how someday she would do that with her own kids… Hopefully both of there kids. He thought about it a lot, there future life and about how much he wanted her to always be around him. Peeta wanted to love Katniss forever.

But tomorrow was reaping day, and Katniss's whole body was stiff. She had forgotten about her fears of Prim being chosen again for a while but it all came back to her. It was times like these that Peeta wishes more then ever that he could save Katniss. Take her away from this place. She could be so happy, so full of smiles. He wanted a good life for her, not this life. Not a life where she was constantly worried for her family, for herself, for everything. His fingers run over the cold metal in his pocket. The circle band and small rock.

He watchs Katniss show her mother the puppy, telling her the name. Her mother's mouth hangs open for a moment, remembering the name Poppy. Tears whell in the woman's eyes, as she pets the dog's soft head. Katniss watches her, Prim by her side.

Someday… Peeta would be able to use this ring… And hopefully make Katniss smile again. Because its like she said, he and the puppy did have a lot in common. The only difference is…. Peeta's fingers hit the ring in his pocket again… He was going to make that girl Mrs. Katniss Mellark.

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**I hope you liked it! PLEASE review! I love getting review! :)**


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